Weber is definitely an elite defenseman, but his addition isn't going to bolt Philly to the forefront of the Eastern Conference. They've still got goalie issues and a not so stellar d corps.
What's with all the bonuses?
It's complete BS!
Pull the plug and turn off the lights and say no to this nonsense.

Dreger said that the Preds have been working on trading him recently and the Flyers got tired of waiting. If they were willing to trade him, they may not match IMO. The flipside I think is that they could match and then move him in a year, but if its contentious, I dunno.

Good for the Flyers. fvck that sh!thole of a city and franchise, but good for them.

And, just to relate to it a bit..it must be real tough to be a preds fan right now.

And also, stealing this from Hfboards. Answered some questions I had:

1. What's the compensation? The average value is just 7.14M, doesnt that mean it's only 2 firsts, a 2nd, and a 3rd?A: No, as per CBA 10.4, the term used in an offersheet calculation is the lower of the term of the contract and five years. 100M/5 = 20M. 20M > 8.4M. Compensation is four first round picks.

2: How long does nashville have to make a decision?A: Per CBA 10.3 B+C, if nashville does not exercise their right of first refusal within seven days, Shea Weber's contract with the flyers will go into effect.

3: Can nashville match and trade him?A: Nashville cannot trade him for one calendar year from the time they match the offersheet. If they wait the full seven days, they cannot trade him until July 26th 2013 (CBA 10.3 B)

4: Wait, what if there's an NTC/NMC? Then isnt Nashville stuck with this contract?A: Nashville only has to match the principal terms of the offersheet, meaning the salary/signing bonuses/structure. (CBA 10.3 B+E)

5. What if nashville trades him right now to another team?A: Nashville cannot trade him once he has signed the offersheet (CBA 10.3 A)

I would argue this doesn't necessarily mean Weber wants out - if he absolutely didn't want to be a Predator, he would've demanded a trade.

Signing an offer sheet always carries the potential of having to play for the original team. Weber's not stupid, he knew what he was doing. He just wanted to get paid.

Sure, but the fact remains that the Predators were trying to trade him recently. You don't trade a player of Weber's caliber unless you can't pay him or he wants out. One scenario I could see is the Preds matching and asking him to give them this year to see if he wants to stay then as they can't even move him for a year if they match. I can't see them forcing him to stay there if he wants to leave.

If the Preds werent trying to trade him, I'd agree, but the fact Dreger mentioned that they were trying to prior to the Flyers doing this makes it easier to conclude he probably already demanded one.

I think he definitely wants the long-term deal now, but that begs the question of why were the Preds shopping him in the first place? He could probably get a more lucrative deal from Nashville now anyway since they're almost 30 under the cap going into this coming season.

trying to see if its a good moves for the flyers to give away 4 first round picks for weber...

they have a pretty good young core if you look at the 30 and under players, they wont have too many holes to fill for a a bunch of years... also Briere should be good for awhile too, probably another 3-4 good playoffs run in him... but i'll leave him out

not the best young dcorp but still very young and some could develop real well... based on that (that they may be set for awhile with very young players) they may have the luxury to forfeit 4 first round picks not having to reload their prospect pool too soon... hard to gauge tho....

If Philly is just determined to throw $100 million at whoever at they can, God bless 'em. Teams like Philly and the Rangers have been buying top free-agents for years, or paying superstar dollars for players that clearly aren't superstars...outside of backpage fodder, what has that gotten either team? These contracts are absurd...I could never bring myself to sign a guy for 14 years.

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THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

If Philly is just determined to throw $100 million at whoever at they can, God bless 'em. Teams like Philly and the Rangers have been buying top free-agents for years, or paying superstar dollars for players that clearly aren't superstars...outside of backpage fodder, what has that gotten either team? These contracts are absurd...I could never bring myself to sign a guy for 14 years.

You're preaching to the choir about these contracts CR. That said, Weber is arguably the best defenseman in the game, and I have no interest in having him on one of our arch-rivals for the next 14 years. The money and term is Nashville's problem. So I really hope they match it, although I'm sure the Phailures did what they could to poison pill this thing as best they could.

Weber is definitely an elite defenseman, but his addition isn't going to bolt Philly to the forefront of the Eastern Conference. They've still got goalie issues and a not so stellar d corps.What's with all the bonuses?It's complete BS!Pull the plug and turn off the lights and say no to this nonsense.

That not-so-stellar d-corps went to the Finals two years ago with Pronger. If they get Weber, he's basically a Pronger equivalent, and for all of Bryz's ills he's still better than the goalies they were throwing out two years ago.

I would think they'd match since they have the money they were going to give Suter to pay him, but the only thing that scares me is they were floating him out for trade talk supposedly. If his 'normal' demands were too pricey for them, this contract might push it over the edge.

I wouldn't if I were them...that contract is lunacy.

If Philly is just determined to throw $100 million at whoever at they can, God bless 'em. Teams like Philly and the Rangers have been buying top free-agents for years, or paying superstar dollars for players that clearly aren't superstars...outside of backpage fodder, what has that gotten either team? These contracts are absurd...I could never bring myself to sign a guy for 14 years.

Except Nashville's franchise and their credibility is ruined if they let Weber AND Suter go inside one calendar month. All they'd have left is Rinne and a bunch of role players. In a brutal division with St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit, good luck competing or getting fans to come the next couple years (which isn't insignificant).

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"The Devils have high standards, that's the difference. We have a standard to live up to every year, and a couple of teams in our area don't have the standards we do." - Pat Burns

The New Jersey Devils win Stanley Cups everywhere:-NHL record for most road wins in the playoffs - 10-1 in '95 and 10-2 in '00-NHL record for most home wins in the playoffs - 12-1 in '03

I swear Nashville is a total mirror image of the Devils. A good, successful small market franchise which churns out talent that eventually split for bigger market teams.

Even the Devils never took this kind of a hit in one offseason. Well they sort of did with Stevens and Nieds but at least they still had an offense to compete with. Nashville never had an offense with their 'good' teams, now they lose the heart and soul of their defense in a month, that's rough.

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"The Devils have high standards, that's the difference. We have a standard to live up to every year, and a couple of teams in our area don't have the standards we do." - Pat Burns

The New Jersey Devils win Stanley Cups everywhere:-NHL record for most road wins in the playoffs - 10-1 in '95 and 10-2 in '00-NHL record for most home wins in the playoffs - 12-1 in '03